Hey Ladies,

FYI, Im also expecting Shelley from my meetup group tomorrow, as well as my friends Paige and Anush. @erika and @kayt I'll be cheering extra hard for you!!

Thanks @AnnaMaria! I coincidentally met Anush last night at Photoville, and she mentioned not being able to come on Sunday due to a race at Floyd, so I'm glad she's probably coming tomorrow! Word on the street is that she's super strong, and I know she's looking for a club to join... (This thread is also for healthy gossip )

@Kayt Where is this street on which you hear such gossip? I have to start riding down that street!

Seriously.  Ladies have had a thread for like seven minutes and already they have some kind of "street" wherein there is a "word" with news...

LOL - I'll do my best to show up, ride, and not get immediately dropped before requiring rescussitative caffeine and croissants. Excited to meet everyone!

@Lisa, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

@lisa its was great meeting you today! love the aero wheels and trailer setup!!! thanks @kayt for leading a lovely new members ride, and a somewhat punishing ride to piermont

Hey there - figured I'd say hi in here as well! So excited to be joining Kissena and I can't wait to start riding with all of you fabulous ladies! Also big thanks to Anna Maria for the invite to the new member ride last weekend and the women's ride on Sunday (I'd tag you, girl, but I'm not sure how - new girl problems or just computer dummy problems? maybe both). Alright - hope to see you guys soon!

Spread the word: Kissena Women's training ride in Prospect Park this Friday at 6 am. 

Awesome @Kayt! My alarms are set. All of them.

Count me in @kayt !!! Also can we please do the womens kit order soon? Or do I have to stencil kissena onto my winter jacket??

@Lisa Did the ladies' order finally get nixed?

Nice meeting you too, Erika and glad to see another Californian out there! I spent 4 frigid winters in Boston during college, but that was a while ago and I never biked while I was there so we'll see how I do with cycling in the chillier 'seasons'.

Anddddd I'm in for Friday at 6AM! I better start getting my rest in now since I am most definitely not a morning person (although I'm trying to change that and am proud to say I woke up at 6:58 today without even using my alarm).

Great thread start! I'm going to do my best to stay out of this thread, but I do want to mention/remind all that a good source of information is to check in with the club's official mentors for advice. Not to be self-serving, but since we didn't get an official shout-out/intro at the Kissena Club Championship race day (there were 3 of us in the race), I'm going to do it here. There is a wealth of good info available from many folks on this thread, but I like to think of us mentors as the official, "club-approved" dispensers of advice. (To me the forum can be like Wikipedia. It's mostly good stuff out there, but you know...)

I think I've met you all now, but by way of introduction, my name is Marc Bertucco and have been racing for over 21 years. For a too brief but glorious time, chasing the dream, I raced in Belgium in their legendary Kermesses (furious circuit races). And before landing in NYC, I was racing the fiercely fast and technically demanding criterium racing scene in the midwest. After Belgium, I traveled the country racing National Race Calendar Pro/Am road and criterium races as a cat 2. Unfortunately for me, this was the late 1990s and early 2000s and we all know now, what successfully racing against pros back then would have required.

Other club mentors include JP Partland, Eric Ragot, Kieran Leahy, Myles Romanow, and Michael Perlberg. Please free to message any one, or all, of us with your questions. We'll immediately offer you up 6 different opinions and might even start bickering, but you know...that's how these things work sometimes.

Really @Marc I cannot believe you left off our most illustrious mentor, "Johnny Wrongway"

Welcome @Gwynna! So good to have you on board. We're definitely all ears re: cold winter riding--anything to supplement the tips in the handbook and make it less daunting! I know PP is not on your neck of the woods, but if you're motivated to get to work in BK extra early after a ride, we're doing some pacelines and group riding in the park tomorrow morning at 6 am. Otherwise looking forward to seeing you on a group ride soon!

Hi @Gwynna! Welcome aboard! Those winter shoes you posted in the kit threat were rad. I've managed two winters commuting in NYC with toe covers alone, but now that my riding involves an extra 100+ miles/wk, I might have to jump on that deal. Anyway, hope to meet you soon! And hope that meeting involves mud and beer!

hey all, whos gonna be in the park tomorrow??

@Anna too many parks, too many rides!  It's an embarrassment of riches...

@Anna Maria I'll be at GAP at 6am for the ladies' paceline!

JP doesn't go through any wormholes that I am aware of. just laps around central park on Friday morning.

i'll be there at 6am as well! 

Great mellow Friday ride this morning, ladies. @AnnaMaria, @Erika, @Paige and soon-to-be new member Lindsay were all there. Quite the squad.

Oh my god, those construction workers. Imagine this kid with a hard hat and orange flag!

Man, those construction workers were definitely spastic and came out of nowhere....TWICE. Good ride guys - looking forward to another. Is this a running Kissena ladies thing cuz if so, count me in for next Friday. Also - I'm seeing a 9W ride in my future...probably Sunday.

Hiya Ladies! Wanted to put this out there, assuming last week's Friday session was the beginning of a regular Friday Kissena women's team ride: Per @MarcBertucco's excellent suggestion above and wise input from Jules and Anna Maria, I think it would behoove us to have an experienced Kissena teammate lead each week's training ride. Everyone has been extremely supportive of our burgeoning women's team, and that supports extends to a generous willingness to help us in any way possible--something we should really take these more experienced riders up on (and thank them profusely for).